Still on Police College, Ikeja

SIR: On Friday, January 18, President Goodluck Jonathan paid an impromptu visit to the Police College Ikeja. My only regret is that the President did not spare few seconds to walk across the little gate that separates the College from the Police Barracks. He would have seen the nauseating environment under which our policemen and women live.

Nigerians expect him to undertake more of such unscheduled visits to other national institutions on the verge of total collapse. But this would work only if his government would see the media as partners in progress. Asking why a television station was allowed access to film the rot at the College is like leaving the message and chasing after the messenger.

It has been argued that the decay at the College did not just start today. And that this government cannot be blamed for the decadence. So, tell me: who should we hold accountable? Since 1999, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been in control of government. The party also controls both houses of the National Assembly. So shouldn’t we hold it accountable and responsible for the deterioration of many of our national heritages and values?

It has also been argued that poor funding is responsible for the sorry state of the police training college. In 2012, for instance, four hundred and ninety six million naira (N496m) was reported to have been budgeted for the College. While this is appalling, it is obvious that the police itself lack proper maintenance culture. Look at their barracks. Look at the vehicles they drive and how they handle them.

There is a Deputy Inspector General of police in charge of these training colleges. How much supervision and managerial competence has he shown in this instance? There is a Ministry of Police Affairs in charge of police matters. There is the Police Service Commission. There are also various committees of the National Assembly that are expected to have oversight functions on these institutions. All these superstructures are there sucking public fund while the institutions under their watch are rotting away.

Only last year, former Commissioner of Police, Plateau state, Emmanuel Dipo Ayeni, during his pulling out parade from the Nigeria Police force, had cause to lash out at the police institution he served for many years. According to him, “The way the Nigerian Police force is operating today leaves much to be desired not because its personnel are not professionally competent but due to some dangerous chemistry that has been badly mixed against the soul of this vital organization.” He dismissed the reform in the Nigerian Police force as “extremely cosmetic” incapable of taking the police force to the next level.

Such calls are wake up call for us to sit back and take a second hard look at the country and what can be done to save it from imminent collapse.